Last weekend my baby boy turned 1.

What a crazy first year of life we’ve put this boy through, but he is a joyful cuddly little bear and we couldn’t imagine our family with out him.

In Taiwanese culture, rest for mama is of supreme importance post-birth. Traditionally many women will take a “yue-zi” which is a month of relaxing and being taken care of as you heal from the birth. At first it seemed like such a bizarre concept to me – they either have their mother-in-law come to take care of their new baby for a month or move into a center that will take care of their baby and feed them special foods while they rest between feedings.

While I was in the hospital after Caleb’s birth they mostly kept him in the nursery, unless I asked them to bring him to the room. But there was a little rotary phone in the corner of the room that they would call me on when it was time to go feed him in the nursery. Every 3 hours or so the ancient phone would ring and a nurse would say “baby wants milk” in Chinese and hang up. I’d go spend some time with my new son and head back to my quiet room overlooking the river.

And a year ago, that’s what Caleb was to me – the other side of that phone call, a baby I hardly knew. And today by God’s grace he is so much more to me. A smily little brother, a morning cuddler, a lover of food, a window watcher for his dad.

His birthday was a flurry – it happened to be on Super Bowl Sunday and I barely need an excuse to throw a party (much less two) so our house was buzzing with friends, well wishers, and little cake eaters. After everyone went home I could hear a cry coming from his room (no doubt his body trying to work out a giant slice of cake), and I found myself a little thankful for some one-on-one time with my boy. We cuddled and prayed, and I shared the things I liked about him, even if he didn’t understand. It was a precious gift to cherish with my birthday boy, slowing down to enjoy the gift of being a mom.

I couldn’t help but notice one of the themes of the Super Bowl commercials this year is the arrival of “5G internet” – with all the cell phone carriers claiming theirs is the fastest or the best. And as I sat with Caleb last night I found it odd that any of us think we need life to get any faster. Perhaps we feel we’ll be able to accomplish more or learn more, but there are few, if any of us, that need more of either.

I’ve been without a smartphone for about a month, and I can’t tell you how deeply I appreciate how much it has slowed my life down. Doing puzzles with Ben on the floor doesn’t feel like stolen time, but rather reclaimed time. Reading a book on the couch or having long conversations with my husband feel restorative and life-giving.

The world around us keeps getting smarter and faster and luring us into the rat race, and I know our problems don’t reside in lack of access. Our brains were not wired for constant stimulation and excitement, and we are paying the price in mental health, stress, lack of sleep, inauthentic relationships, and much more.

The Cabelas commercial had the right idea: Get outside. Connect with people. Find what brings us together.